Right, I get that and agree. It doesn’t make my position incorrect. Mine is just a separate point.
Even if they HAD a sympathetic general public, their cause is OVER when the heads are lobbed off. This is a reality of power that needs to be dealt with, just as important as the reality of public perception of it.
So any such future endeavor by the ranchers or similar group should take all of that into account (and quite a bit more actually, but that’s a separate subject).
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Ghandi brought the British empire down in India and the Brits were more bloody minded than the current American jack booted thugs. Everyone thinks the Brits ar elike we see in Doctor Who or those romance comedies - but the Brits were bloody bastards. The Brits massacred hundreds of peaceful protestors - The Jallianwala Bagh massacre - in 1919. That is not that long ago.
No one wants to be massacred and I am not advocating that obviously but it takes guts to not fight back and take casualties. The modren American govt is no where near as bloody as the Brits were.
I had suggested an all women protest. Armed to protect themselves against rapists since they are in the middle of nowhere etc - don't put it in terms of armed to kill police officers or federals - but armed nontheless. Get some cute mom babe to be the spokesperson. Make the story sympathetic - make converts.